Joining the Circus

For some reason I was thinking about the circus and the phrase people use – “Run away to join the circus.” It is usually said out of frustration with a current environment or situation with (I guess) the idea that the circus is this great place and we can escape.

Where did this idea and phrase come from?

Think about it.

What do circus performers do? They spend their lives traveling around in trailers hauling a bunch of animals and equipment. Pull into towns all over the country, spend all day setting up the stuff, then change clothes and spend all-night hanging upside down from a trapeze in a leotard. Then when it’s all over, shovel out the elephant poo. Pack up and do it all over again the next day.

I don’t know about you but the idea of falling off a trapeze, getting stomped on by an elephant or mauled by a big tiger does not seem particularly appealing to me.

I’m looking for the upside here.

If all I wanted to do was escape, I’d find something …

French foreign legion? By the way. do you know anything about them? If movies are to be believed (and please don’t tell me you can’t) then the foreign legion was where mostly bad guys went to escape jail or something. This must have been before people were sent to Australia (or maybe after it filled up and the authorities figured they’d better not send any more bad guys down-under) You know the judge says “15 years to life OR you can join the Foreign Legion.” A sort of Hobson’s choice but … Most of the time these guys ended up fighting berbers or nomads or something in the Arabian desert. Hot, sandy, and big snakes slithering across the sands at night to crawl into your tent … Once again, what are people thinking?

Personally I think Alaska might be a better choice but they have grizzlies. Caribbean islands? – do the names Erin and Dean mean anything right now? I’m not sure there is anyplace safe left to go. Maybe I’ll just stay at home.